REVIEW: ‘St. Denis Medical’ Season 2 Episode 4 Takes You To A Conference And Celebrates Nurses
- Emma Fisher
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
This article contains spoilers for S2E4 of St. Denis Medical.
The fourth episode of St. Denis Medical’s second season, “Two Docs, One Conf,” is a funny outing that finds a balance between workplace absurdity and the show’s warmth. It continues the series’ talent for taking minor problems and escalating them into full-blown catastrophes. While it might not be the most ambitious episode so far, or of the next four available to press, it’s one of the most consistently entertaining, highlighted by a well-paced pair of plots, hilarious performances, and one of the series’ best uses of Bruce (Josh Lawson) to date.
Ron (David Alan Grier) and Bruce attend the Forest Hill Medical Conference. It’s become clear by now that Ron is at his most entertaining when his professionalism is under pressure and his worldview collides with those of his colleagues, while Bruce is naturally disruptive in any setting so long as the attention remains on him. Ron arrives expecting a functional networking weekend, or rather a weekend to flirt with another attendee, and instead is confronted with Bruce, who has booked them a shared party suite. It's clear he's approaching the event with a very different agenda. Ron’s immediate retreat to the reception desk, willing to accept any single room available, sets up an entertaining dynamic.
Grier and Lawson are excellent together. Ron’s increasingly strained politeness and grumpiness, particularly as Bruce interrupts his many attempts to speak with Autumn Fenner (Enuka Okuma), the newly divorced doctor that he has his eye on, are executed with great timing. The conference scenes are also paced well, especially the moment where Bruce steals Ron’s Mr Bean line and repeats it loudly enough for the surrounding attendees to hear. From this point onward, Ron’s credibility takes a hit, while Bruce becomes the star of the event, much to his delight.
Back at St. Denis, it’s Nurse Appreciation Week, a tradition that Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) takes seriously. She produces decorated “You Rock” rocks, insisting that she genuinely appreciates her nurses and joking that she should be locked up if that’s a crime. The nursing staff, however, don’t respond with the enthusiasm she expects. Val (Kaliko Kauahi) notes that time could be saved by handing the annual Gentle Heart award to Alex (Allison Tolman) again, given that she has won it six times already (seven, according to Alex). Joyce, meanwhile, urges everyone to get their votes in, even as it becomes clear that the week means far more to her than it does to anyone else.
Ever the sweetheart, Matt (Mekki Leeper) informs Alex that he’ll be voting for her. She diligently informs him that she’ll be voting for him also, as he’s come a long way. Val tells Alex to drop the Mother Theresa act as she’s got the award in the bag. Alex doesn’t care about it. Val (alongside you and me) isn’t convinced.
Back at the conference, Bruce continues to draw attention. He distributes flyers for his party and happily provides jokes for the crowd’s amusement. Ron’s attempts to salvage his reputation only worsen when he accidentally insults the conference speaker, allowing Bruce to publicly call him “Mr Mean,” which catches on.
The contrast between Joyce’s efforts and the staff’s indifference is heightened when one of the rocks is found thrown in the bin outside her office. She interprets this as blatant disrespect and is hurt by the act. Serena (Kahyun Kim) admits that she threw hers away because it was literally a rock, though she’s surprised no one else did the same.
Alongside the appreciation theatrics, the Gentle Heart award takes on new significance when the prize of a free weekend at Plunge Planet is revealed. Alex’s kids are obsessed with the water park, and she had hoped Tim (Kyle Bornheimer) would take them without her. Val presses her to stop pretending that she’s disinterested in the award, reasoning that Alex clearly deserves the weekend more than Matt, whom she (maybe even affectionately) describes as a little animated hillbilly. Alex admits she’d choose herself over Matt, undermining her earlier performance of modesty.
The hospital plot escalates when Joyce announces that she has cheesecake for the nurses, but will eat one slice every ten minutes until the vandal reveals themselves. If no one confesses by 5 P.M., she’ll cancel the entire week. Serena attempts to remedy her discarded-rock problem by sourcing a replacement. Her search becomes increasingly futile, from finding only pebbles and a condom outside the hospital to negotiating with a gift shop employee who refuses to help after she comments on his job security being relative to iPads. When she tries to borrow another rock, Brandon (Dan Leahy) points out that Joyce has individually labelled each one with a “Processed by Dr Joyce Henderson” sticker, ruling out the possibility of taking another’s to cover her back.
Matt’s popularity rises further when he helps Nadine, one of Alex’s patients who has had bowel issues throughout the episode, discover she’s pregnant. She later names the baby after him, which must sting for Alex, who had missed the signs of pregnancy and fobbed the patient off. But, by the time Val counts the ballots, Matt and Alex are tied with one vote not in, Alex’s. She votes for herself without hesitation and wins.
Meanwhile, Serena, increasingly desperate, fabricates a story about a nursing gang stealing her rock and throwing it away in an act of jealousy over her bond with Joyce. Joyce, ever naïve but earnest, accepts the explanation without hesitation, confirms Serena is her favourite, and invites her to her family's lake house to pick out a replacement rock. The matter, in Joyce’s mind, is resolved.
There are, however, fewer victories for Ron and Bruce. In a last-ditch attempt to reclaim his standing, Ron attends Bruce’s party. Bruce, having consumed only two glasses of wine and no solid food for four days to be pool-ready, is drunk and unstable. He insists that Ron looks down on him, climbs onto a wardrobe in protest, and falls off, smashing the table beneath him. The scene is played for humour, but it hints at something more worrying in Bruce’s behaviour. His fixation on appearance and popularity has yet to land him in a healthy situation.
The closing scene softens the chaos slightly. Ron and Bruce sit together on a hotel bed watching television, exhausted by the weekend. Ron reflects that sometimes you get neither the conference you want nor the one you need, but at least he saw a different side of Bruce, one driven by loneliness rather than his usual cockiness and bravado. Bruce, in turn, insists Ron is the lonely one, though he was happy to have Ron’s company.
While it doesn’t push the series into new territory, “Two Docs, One Conf” reinforces St. Denis Medical’s ability to make the most of its ensemble. The conference storyline plays to the strengths of Grier and Lawson, while Nurse Appreciation Week affirms just how funny and slightly delusional Joyce can be. It’s a well-executed 22 minutes that reiterates why the show continues to be one of network television’s most reliable comedies.
Rating: ★★★½
About St. Denis Medical
Premiere Date: 17 November 2025,
Episode Count: 18
Showrunner: Eric Ledgin
Executive Producers: Eric Ledgin, Justin Spitzer, Simon Heuer, Ruben Fleischer, Bridget Kyle, and Vicky Luu.
Production: Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, More Bees, Inc. and Spitzer Holding Company.
Cast: Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, and Kaliko Kauahi.
Synopsis: St. Denis Medical is a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. In season two, after receiving a large private donation, hospital administrator Joyce bites off more than she can chew while her employees navigate staff shortages, office conflicts and their own personal lives.